Darkness
by lanadeljey
Summary: When Sora finally reaches Hallow Bastion, things don't go exactly as planned.
1. Reunited

**Hey guys! Not really going to do the whole intro thing, but just an important note for this fanfiction. In this fanfiction, Maleficent is the final boss after EVERYTHING. So there's no Organization XIII, or any of that. It's the same amount of time between KH1 and KH2, but it's only (sort of) following the KH1 timeline, so Riku has the longer hair and all of that good stuff, but they're still fighting Maleficent in Hallow Bastion. Also, this is mentioned in the story too but (STORY SPOILER) Maleficent ends up having Kiari's heart—not Sora.**

 **Alright that's it, enjoy!**

* * *

 _Location: Hallow Bastion_

Sora was standing across from Riku. Donald, Goofy, and Beast all stood behind him. The air was ice cold but Sora didn't care.

"Riku, why are you doing this? Don't you know what the darkness does to people?!" he asked.

"We've always been rivals, haven't we? You've always pushed me, as I've always pushed you." Said Riku. The words tore at Sora's heart. Riku was a bit taken back when he saw the sadness in Sora's eyes.

"Rivals…?" he asked. Riku didn't say anything. Instead he studied the boy's actions. Sora looked confused. Riku held out his hand until the Keyblade disappeared from Sora's grip and appeared into Riku's. "See?" he said. "You've always been the weaker one."

"But how?!" shouted Sora. "I fought my way here with the Keyblade! You can't just take it from me!" he exclaimed. Riku laughed.

"You were just the delivery boy, Sora. Don't you get it? You aren't cut out for the job." Said Riku. Sora didn't bother to reply. He fell to his knees. "But if you really need a weapon that bad," said Riku as he threw the wooden sword to Sora. It hit him in the head and Sora grasped the place where it hit. "you can use this. Good times, right?" he said. Riku turned and walked away, only for Goofy and Donald to follow. He stared at them in shock. All three of his friends have left him.

"I…" he started to speak. " _ **I just wanted to find you!**_ " he shouted. Riku stopped in his tracks. He didn't turn to face Sora or speak. He just listened. His breath stuttered when he heard sobs come from the boy's mouth. "I just wanted my friends back." He said. Riku and the others left him alone with Beast. Beast got up and slowly began following the others to find Belle. Sora saw how much pain he was in. He ran to Beast's side and stopped him.

"Y-You're hurt." He said. Beast turned to look at him.

"So are you." He replied. Sora frowned. "If you're looking for someone as well, then follow me." He said. Sora hesitated, but he nodded anyway. He grabbed the wooden sword.

"The darkness will destroy you, Sora." Said Riku as he transformed into battle gear.

"You're wrong, Riku. The darkness may destroy my body but it can't touch my heart." He said. Riku snorted at the statement. "It can't touch yours either." He added.

"Shut up and fight me, idiot." Said Riku.

"The Riku I know and love is still in there somewhere. I don't know what made you want to do all of this, but I'm giving you a chance to call it a truce." Said Sora. He held out his hand and the Keyblade came back to him. "Come with me, Riku. You don't have to give in to the darkness, anymore." He said. Riku summoned his sword and began swinging, ignoring Sora's request. They began slashing their blades. Punches were thrown, kicks were kicked. Finally, Riku grabbed Sora and shoved him against the wall. He grabbed him by his throat and pressed down. Sora couldn't breathe.  
"Ri…ku…why…" he choked. He looked in Riku's eyes. They were filled with rage and frustration. 'You really do hate me.' Thought Sora. Sora didn't feel the need to fight back. Something had come over him and told him to stop fighting. He stared Riku right in the eyes and tears welled up in his own.

"It's time for you to die, Sora." He said. A tear fell down Sora's cheek and Riku's grip loosened.

'He's…crying.' Thought Riku. 'Why the fuck is he crying?'

"Rik…u." said Sora. "This isn't y…you." He added. Riku was beginning to feel confused.

"Why can't I do it?!" he shouted in frustration. "You idiot! What are you doing?!" he shouted at Sora. He punched Sora in his face, causing his nose to bleed. Sora took it and his vision began to blur.

"Riku…"

"Stop saying my name!" he shouted at the brunette. Donald and Goofy ran to Riku's side.

"Riku, can't you see he's not fighting back?!" shouted Donald. "Just let go!"

Riku let go. Sora fell to the floor and instantly covered his face with his hands. Goofy pulled out a handkerchief to help with Sora's bleeding.

"Why the fuck aren't you fighting back?!" shouted Riku. Sora looked up at him. His eyes still wet.

"I can't fight you. Not like this. This is different than seeing who gets to eat the paopu fruit with Kiari, or who gets to build the raft." Said Sora. These words were messing with Riku. "This is a fight to the death, I'm not doing that with you." Said Sora as he wiped a tear away. He tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming. "I…I just wanted to find my friends and go home. I didn't ask for this." He said. Riku was really feeling frustrated. He was staring at Sora who instead of fighting—was on the ground, bleeding and crying.

"Sora, get up." Said Riku. His battle gear faded away. Sora slowly got up. He expected another hit or something. He wasn't going to hit back. He wasn't going to lay a hand on Riku even if it killed him. That was his best friend.

Sora stood up and looked Riku in the eyes. Something possessed him to pull the brunette into an embrace. Sora jumped at the touch of Riku's arms around his body, but he almost immediately gave in. He wrapped his arms around Riku so tight Riku could barely breathe.

"You idiot." He said to Sora. Sora cried into his chest. "Why did you come here if you didn't want to fight me…" he said.

"I…I just want my friends back." He said. Riku felt remorse for the first time in a long while.  
"I…I do…I do too." He said. Sora looked Riku in the eye.

"Then why are you _here_?" asked the brunette. "Why are you hitting me?" he said. Riku's heart felt like it was defrosting. Those words shot through him like a gun.

" _Why are you hitting me?"_

That was when Riku began to notice what the boy looked like. His eye was bruised, his nose was stained with blood, the corner of his mouth was bleeding and his eyes were filled with tears. What the fuck was he doing to Sora? The realization of what he had done was settling in. Sora could see it in Riku's eyes. Riku pulled the boy into another embrace. He held on so tight to him.

"S…ora…" he mumbled. "I didn't mean to…" he began.

"You've been used by Maleficent, Riku." Said Sora. Riku hid his face in Sora's shoulder and quietly sobbed.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered in between sobs. Sora held onto him tighter. "I'm so sorry." He said it over and over. Sora just embraced him. He held on to every moment they had together. Riku let go of the embrace and caressed Sora's cheek. He grabbed the handkerchief Sora had and helped him clean some of the blood. A tear fell down Riku's face and Sora dried it with his thumb.

"Are you sure they're just friends?" whispered Donald to Goofy. Goofy shrugged, but they went ahead and gave them some alone time.

"I'm sorry…" said Riku again. "I…I really hurt you…" said Riku as he sobbed again. Sora embraced him again.

"It's okay, I'm alive Riku."

"A-Are you alright?" asked Riku. He ran his finger around Sora's mouth where it was cut. "That looks like it hurts a lot."

"It does." Said Sora. "It was worth it though. It woke you up." He said. Riku smiled sadly and caressed Sora's cheek.

"I'll help you fix it up after we get Kiari back, okay?" said Riku. Sora's face lit up as much as it could.

"So you're on our side again?!" he exclaimed. Riku nodded. Sora was so excited he pulled Riku into a kiss. They immediately broke away and blushed. "I-I didn't mean to do that! I was just excited! I-I'm sorry!" he shouted.

"It's fine, let's just get Kiari back." Said Riku, wiping his mouth. Sora was so embarrassed.

The group reunited and fought Maleficent and won Kiari's heart. It was with Maleficent the entire time. They all went back home and the princesses were saved as well as the worlds. They were on the Gummi Ship on their way home to Destiny Islands. Kiari was sleeping in the back, Goofy and Donald were steering the ship, and Riku and Sora were in the middle. Donald and Goofy put up a partition to give the two boys their privacy to talk things out.

Sora looked over at Riku, who was just looking out of the window.

"Riku…" said Sora. The boy turned to look at the brunette.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Are you coming home with us?" asked Sora. Riku hesitated but he nodded.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" asked Riku.

"I just didn't know if you wanted to. It's been…a while." Said Sora. Riku sighed.

"Yeah, I'm coming home. I have nowhere else to go." He said. He saw Sora frown, but pretended like he didn't. Sora shifted in his seat. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two boys.

"I'm gonna take a long nap when we get there." Said Sora. Riku looked over at Sora, who was looking out the window.

"I guess I'll be joining you then." Said Riku.

"Riku, there's only room for one person in my bed." Said Sora. Riku blushed a deep red.

"Y-You idiot, I meant I was going to take a nap too!" he said, annoyed. Sora laughed and held his stomach.

"Ah, I know you may not be the happiest, but I'm really happy you're back, Riku." Said Sora. Riku questioned himself about what Sora had said. Did Sora not think he was happy to be away from the darkness? Does Sora think he's just a burden or something?

The partition lowered.

"We're here!" said Donald. The two boys perked up and Kiari shook her head awake.

"Kiari!" said Sora.

"My head hurts…where are we?" she asked.

"We're home, now." Said Riku. "You lost your heart to the darkness and Sora had to fight to get it back. Everything's alright now." Said Riku. Kiari's eyes welled up with tears and she pulled both boys towards her.

"I missed you both so much." Said Kiari.

"I missed you too, Kiari." Said Sora.

"Yeah, I'm glad we're all back together." Said Riku.

The Gummi Ship landed and Sora jumped out and his heart fluttered. He was home. He smelt the salt from the ocean and felt the slight breeze.

"I'M HOME!" he shouted as he fell back onto the sand. The rest of the group jumped out and took in a breath of fresh air.

"So this is your guys' home?" asked Goofy. Riku nodded.

"Yeah. Destiny Islands." Said Riku. He smiled. He was beginning to feel like his old self again, which made him feel worse about making Sora think that he didn't want to be here.

"I can see why you didn't want to leave. You get to tan everyday!" exclaimed Goofy. "Well, this is where we part ways!" he added. Everyone turned to look at Goofy and Donald.

"What? You're leaving already?" asked Sora.

"Yep! We'll be back really soon! We just have to meet with King Mickey back at the castle." Said Donald.

"When will I see you guys again?" asked Sora. He looked so sad.

"We'll try and come back later next week or somethin'!" said Goofy. Sora smiled.

"That sounds awesome. We can make smores and grill out!" said Sora. Goofy and Donald agreed and were on their way. Kiari looked around and smiled.

"You guys, we're home…" said Kiari. Sora and Riku smiled.

"Yeah, I didn't think we'd ever make it back." Said Riku. Kiari went inside to look around their treehouse. "I saw what power the darkness has. I _felt_ it. Sora, you're really strong. You saved us all. Thanks again." He said with a smile. Sora was grinning from ear to ear. He walked up to Riku and put a hand on his shoulder.

"So…are you happy to be home?" asked Sora. "If you're not, it's okay. I'll understand." He added. Riku smiled.

"Sora…that reminds me." He said. "What you said in the ship earlier—about me not being happy—what did you mean?" asked Riku. Sora frowned.

"It…it just seems like you were happier in the darkness than being here." Said Sora. "It didn't really seem like you wanted to come home." He added. Riku felt guilty.

"I'm sorry I made you think that. It's just taking me a while to get used to all of this again." Said Riku. Sora nodded.

"I understand." Said Sora. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked. Riku chuckled.

"Sora, you've done _more_ than enough. I'm alright. I'll get there. Go take your nap now." He said. Sora nodded again and took Riku's hands.

"Did you still want to join me?" asked Sora. Riku blushed.

"W-What?" he asked. Sora blushed too.

"Do…do you want to take a nap with me?" he asked. "You don't have to, I'm just asking."

"Uh…y-yeah, sure." Said Riku nervously. They walked inside the treehouse and looked for Kiari. Kiari was in her room, completely asleep. Sora and Riku smiled. They closed the door and went to Sora's room. Sora immediately took off his shirt and pants, leaving Riku to cover his eyes. He quickly put some comfortable shorts on and jumped into bed. He saw Riku standing there with his hands over his eyes.

"You alright there?" asked Sora. Riku put his hands down.

"You just decided to strip out of nowhere. Aren't you gonna put a shirt on?" asked Riku. Sora shook his head.

"I never sleep with a shirt on!" he said. "Now climb in!" he added.

"I need to change, too." Said Riku. He went to his took and took a moment to take it in. He hadn't seen his room in quite some time. He opened the closet and took in the scent of his clothes. He grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and a plain white t-shirt and quickly changed. When he went back to Sora's room, he climbed into Sora's bed. Sora snuggled up close to Riku.

"Geez, personal space much?" asked Riku.

"Nope! I missed you too much." Said Sora. Riki blushed. Sora wrapped his arms around Riku and Riku blushed even harder. "G'night, Riku." Said Sora. He yawned. "It's been so long since I've been able to sleep comfortably." Said Sora. He let his eyes grow heavy as they slowly closed. Riku did the same. They drifted off into beautiful sleep and Sora was pulling Riku close to him, which woke Riku. He noticed that Sora may have been dreaming about him. He wrapped his arms around Sora's body and pulled him close as he drifted off into sleep again.


	2. Resurrection

Riku woke up in a dark room. He opened his eyes as wide as they could be, he couldn't see a thing. His body jolted when he heard a very familiar laugh. It wasn't a playful one either. A small green light stood before him. He knew what it was. It was a small orb filled with green energy. His heart jumped when he heard the sound of a staff hitting the ground. Green torches filled a stone hall where Riku sat. He suddenly realized that he wasn't home anymore. He looked in front of him and his eyes grew in horror when he saw two familiar horns moving closer to him. The green lights slowly lit up the woman's face.

"M-Maleficent…" said Riku. Maleficent laughed again.

"Oh, Riku…" she said in a pouty voice. "I'm afraid you're too late…" she said. She pulled her cloak away, revealing something that laid under it. A figure laid there, but Riku couldn't make it out. Maleficent moved her staff closer to the figure, allowing the green light to show Riku who laid under her cloak. He saw brown spikey hair, red pants, and a key.

"N-No…" said Riku. "No, you witch!" he shouted. "I'll kill you!" he said as he charged for her.

"Riku!" she shouted. "Riku, Riku stop this!" she shouted again.

Riku jolted awake from someone tugging on his arm. He turned to see Sora looking very worried.

"Riku, you were having a really bad nightmare." He said. Riku almost immediately pulled the boy close to him and embraced him tightly.

"Thank god it was _just_ a nightmare." He said.

"Riku…you're really sweaty." Said Sora. Riku let go of Sora, but held one of his hands.

"It was Maleficent." Said Riku. "She killed you." He added. Sora smiled.

"You know nobody that weak can kill me." Said Sora, jokingly. Riku grinned.

"I don't think you know how happy I am that it was just a dream." He said.

"Yeah, you're breathing really heavy. You were screaming my name and you were kicking the air." He said. "I'm glad that's over." He added. Riku nodded and squeezed Sora's hand.

"Do you wanna take a shower?" asked Sora. Riku then realized that the bed was practically soaked in his sweat.

"Damn…I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay, don't apologize. I just don't want you to get cold or anything." Said Sora. Riku thought about it. He wanted to shower but he didn't want Sora out of his sight.

"Can…can you come with me?" he asked. Sora blushed.

"I…I don't know if I'm comfortable—"

"No, idiot. You don't have to shower with me. Just sit in the bathroom or something." Said Riku.

"Riku, it was just a dream."

"I just don't want you to leave me right now, alright?" said Riku more assertively. Sora was a bit taken back. Sora had spent all of this time wishing Riku never left to begin with, now the tables have turned. He smiled.

"Alright. I'll sit with you." Said Sora. Riku nodded and got out of bed. Sora grabbed his Gameboy and followed him.

"Really?" asked Riku.

"Well who knows how long you take to shower?" said Sora. "Besides, I think after all the fighting I've done, I deserve _some_ game time." Said Sora. Riku chuckled. They went into the bathroom and Sora sat on the floor and leaned against the cabinets under the sink. He turned his Gameboy on and started playing Pokemon.

"Close your eyes, I'm taking off my clothes." Said Riku. Sora paused the game and closed his eyes tight. Riku quickly stripped and stepped into the shower as he turned on the water. He sighed as the hot water ran down his body, washing away the sweat from the nightmare he just had. "You still there, Sora?" he asked. He smiled when he heard the boy yawn.

"Yupp, still here. I just got a Jigglypuff!" said Sora.

"I have no idea what that means, but congratulations." He said as he began to shampoo his hair. The place he was at in Hallow Bastion had decent soap, but he missed _his_ shampoo. He inhaled the familiar scent and smiled. He quickly rinsed out the shampoo and began to lather his body with soap. He looked down at his own body. He noticed how much he's changed since the last time he showered here. He was much taller, his feet were much bigger, and we was much more…endowed than we was before. He was much more muscular than he was before, too. The same goes for Sora. Sora had gotten taller and more muscular. He didn't know about how well endowed Sora was. Riku blushed at the thought even crossing his mind. He frowned when he realized how much time they had lost enjoying being home.

"How long are you gonna take?" asked Sora. "It's been half an hour, already." He joked. Riku rolled his eyes.

"I'm rinsing off right now." Said Riku. He quickly rinsed off his body and turned off the water.

"Eyes are covered, Riku." Said Sora. Riku laughed as he stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel. He wrapped it around his waist and began combing his hair.

"You can uncover them. I'm covered from the waist down." He said. Sora removed his hands from his face and looked at Riku. He grinned, which made Riku blush.

"You've got some color back into your face!" he said.

"W-What do you mean?" asked Riku

"When you woke up, you were as white as a ghost." Said Sora. Riku frowned.

"Yeah, that was fucked up." said Riku. He noticed that he had said a bad word and immediately apologized. "Sorry…"

"Sorry for what? Cursing?" asked Sora. Riku smiled as he cleaned out his ears with a q-tip.

"I keep forgetting that you've grown up, too." He said.

"What's that supposed to mean? Do I still look like a kid to you?" he asked with an upset look on his face. Riku laughed.

"No, Sora. You look your age." He said. "Alright, I need to get dressed." He said. Sora closed his eyes again. Riku quickly put on another pair of basketball shorts and another white tee. This was Riku's sleepwear. He got hot easily, so loose clothing was the way to go to bed.

"Alright, dressed." He said. "Let's go back to bed."

" _Finally._ " Said Sora. Riku rolled his eyes.

"Let's sleep in my bed." Said Riku. Sora nodded.

"Yeah, I'll wash my sheets in the morning." Said Sora.

Riku's bed was a queen size instead of a full size like Sora's. Riku laid in his bed and inhaled the scent of his pillow.

"Wow, I missed this." Said Riku. Sora nodded.

"Yeah, my bed smells the same too." Said Sora as he tucked himself in. The room was dark, so Riku was able to stare at Sora without him noticing. Why has he never appreciated Sora until the journey began? Why did all of this allow Riku to see how great of a friend he had?

"Sora…" he began, "thank you for sitting with me." He said. Sora smiled.

"No problem. Goodnight, Riku. Thanks for letting me sleep here." He said. Riku just nodded as he fell asleep in his own bed for the first time in god knows how long.


	3. Confessions of a Keyblade Master

Riku woke up from someone moving in his bed. His eyes fluttered open to find Sora trying to get out of bed without waking him.

"Sorry…your bed is kinda loud." Said Sora. Riku just smiled and nodded. He sat up and stretched. "You don't have to wake up, I'm just hungry." Said Sora. Riku put his hand over his own stomach.

"Yeah, I could eat too. I need to brush my teeth though." Said Riku. Sora nodded and got out of Riku's bed. He quickly brushed his teeth and walked to the kitchen. To his surprise, Kiari was sitting in the living room, drinking tea and watching TV.

"Good morning!" said Kiari. Sora smiled.

"Good morning, what are you doing up so early?" asked Sora. Kiari laughed.

"Sora, it's 10AM. That's not early." She said. Sora jokingly rolled his eyes and walked to the kitchen.

"I'm assuming that the fridge is empty?" said Sora.

"Nope! I guess I forgot to tell you, but Leon and the others moved to town! Leon filled out fridge when he heard from Donald and Goofy that we were coming home." She said.

"Leon and the others are here?! I've gotta go visit them. I can take Riku!" he said. Sora opened the fridge and his jaw dropped. Sora felt so happy he could cry. There was juice, fruit, veggies, deli meat, cheese, bread, and everything else you wanted at home to eat. He started to salivate as he imagined the perfect sandwich. He pulled out all of the things he needed and went to town. "Do you want a sandwich, Ki?" asked Sora. Kiari shook her head.

"No, I made myself some breakfast earlier." Said Kiari. Riku walked in and rubbed his eyes. "Good morning, sleepy head!" teased Kiari. Riku smiled and plopped himself on the couch next to her.

"Riku, what kind of sandwich do you want?" asked Sora. "We've got ham, turkey, roast beef," he started to list off all of the sandwich-related things he had.

"I don't care, surprise me. Just don't make it gross." Said Riku.

"You won't be sorry!" said Sora. Riku smiled. He stared at Sora who was now running around the kitchen, fixing up the best sandwich he could.

"He's always been so competitive, even with himself." Said Kiari. Riku laughed.

"You've got that right." Said Riku. "How'd we get so much food in here anyway?" he asked. "No one's been on the islands for a while now."

"Leon and the others from Traverse Town filled it for us when Donald and Goofy told thme we were coming home. They moved to town." Said Kiari. Riku couldn't help the feeling of jealousy that filled his heart.

"Leon…and the others? Are those the new friends Sora made?" asked Riku. Kiari nodded. She noticed the look on Riku's face.

"Oh, don't be jealous. Besides, Sora was talking about how he was gonna take you to finally meet them. They're really good people. They helped Sora the most to find me and you." She said. Riku took a moment to give it some thought.

"I guess it's not _that_ big of a deal. As long as he's not hiding anyone from us." He said.

"Sandwich is done!" shouted Sora. "Kiari are you sure you don't want any?" he asked.

"You're sweet. I'm full, though." Said Kiari. Riku stood up and took the plate from Sora. It was a rather large sandwich on wheat toast with mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, turkey, bacon, and tomatoes. There was a small parsley leaf on the side of the plate. Riku smiled at how perfect Sora made it look.

"You've outdone yourself, Sora. This looks pretty good." Said Riku. Sora was grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, don't stare at it. Eat it!" said Sora. Riku sat down and took a bite. "Well?" asked Sora. All he got was an 'mhmmm' and a nod as Riku began to eat the rest of the sandwich. Easily a sign that the sandwich was a success. Sora felt proud of himself. He began to make his own sandwich and started to eat that on the couch as they all watched tv.

"This feels so…right." Said Kiari. The two boys looked at her with food in their mouths. "Us three, finally together again just watching tv and enjoying the day. I just feel really grateful." She said. The two boys smiled. Riku swallowed his food.

"I agree, but I gotta say…it feels kinda weird that the worlds aren't in any danger. It feels like I should be doing something." Said Riku. Sora nodded.

"Me too. My body feels weird that it's not tired." Said Sora.

The group finished their breakfast. Sora and Riku were now on their favorite tree.

"Hey, Riku. I need to introduce you to my friends that just moved here! They're the ones who gave us all of that foo—"

"Kiari told me." Said Riku. Sora was a bit taken back.

"Why do you sound upset?" asked Sora.

"Because it seems like when everyone was gone you just went off and made new friends. There were moments when it seemed like you didn't care to look for me." Said Riku. Sora was silent for a moment before he spoke up.

"I was alone." Said Sora. Riku looked at Sora. He looked disappointed. Riku didn't know if he was disappointed at himself or him. "I had no one. I had to make friends." Said Sora. "I understand why you think that, but without them, I would have never found you." He said.

"Yeah, I get it. Sorry." Said Riku. Sora didn't say anything. He just sat there and stared at the ocean. "Are you mad?" asked Riku. Sora just slightly shook his head. "Yes you are…" said Riku. Sora didn't say anything.

"If you were alone, wouldn't you try to find help?" asked Sora. "If the only person you had left leaves you, what do you do?" asked Sora. Riku was silent.

"I already said I get it, alright?" said Riku. Sora looked at him in confusion.

"So now _you're_ mad?" asked Sora.

"You wouldn't drop it!" said Riku. "Listen, I don't want to fight with you. Let's forget it, alright?" asked Riku.

"You hurt my feelings, Riku." Said Sora. At this point Riku just wanted the conversation to be over.

"Well, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, _Sora._ " He said as he got up and walked away. Sora looked at him with hurt in his eyes.

"What the _hell…_ " he said to himself. He sighed and stared at the ocean. 'How could he think that I ever forgot about him? He and Kiari are the only reason I did any of this…' he said. He truly felt hurt by Riku's words. All he wanted was his new friends to get along with Riku.

Riku walked inside the house and went directly do his room. Kiari noticed that he seemed upset. Sora followed later on.

"Sora, is everything alright? Riku just went to his room and slammed the door." Said Kiari.

"He got upset about the Leon thing." Said Sora.

"Really? I talked to him earlier and he didn't seem to be annoyed by it. A little jealous, yes. But not angry." She said.

"Kiari, he said that I forgot about him when I became friends with them." Said Sora. Kiari frowned.

"Sora, you know that he knows that's not true. Riku's always been overprotective of you. He's just a little jealous is all. Just give it time and he'll come along." Said Kiari. "But I wouldn't introduce Leon and the others to him until this has calmed down, okay?" asked Kiari. Sora nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Ki. I'm gonna go start laundry." Said Sora. He got up and went to his room. He gathered the bed sheets from the night before and walked to the laundry room. He threw them in the washer and turned the washing machine on. He sighed. He stared at the sheets as he remembered the night before. It was before any of this mess happened. Riku held onto Sora so tightly when he woke up from the nightmare. How did it come to them fighting over something so stupid? Sora turned to head back to his room, but he jumped at the sight of Riku standing in the doorway. "S-Sorry. I didn't see you there." Said Sora as he tried to squeeze through the doorway. "Um, can you move?" asked Sora.

"We've gotta talk." Said Riku.

"In the laundry room?" asked Sora.

"Wherever." Said Riku. Sora nodded. They went to Riku's room. They sat on the bed and it was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry." Said Riku, breaking the long silence. Sora frowned.

"I'm sorry, too." He said.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about. You didn't do anything wrong. I was just being selfish. I was only thinking of myself. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. It's just that seeing you make new friends scared me. I thought you were going to forget about me and Kiari, but I was really wrong." Said Riku. Sora smiled. He wrapped his arms around Riku. Riku hugged him back.

"Thank you, Riku. It means so much to me." Said Sora. "I'll never forget about you. Even if you leave again, I'll go looking for you again. I'll do it a million times if I have to." Said Sora. Riku frowned.

"I won't leave again." Said Riku. Sora smiled. Riku ran his fingers through Sora's hair. Sora hummed at the soothing feeling. They stayed in that position for a while. "I love you." Said Riku after a long moment. Sora jerked away from Riku to look him in the eyes.

"W-What?" asked Sora. Riku kissed Sora's forehead and said it again.

"I love you. That's why I got so upset. I figured it would be fair if you knew." Said Riku. Sora blushed hard.

"O-Oh…well I…I guess I love you too. I always have." Said Sora.

"You know that's not what I mean, Sora. It's okay if you don't feel the same way." Said Riku. Sora frowned.

"I'm sorry…I just have to think about this." Said Sora. Riku nodded.

"I understand. Thanks for letting me apologize to you." Said Riku with a smile. Sora nodded and left the room. He went to his own room to process what just happened.

"He loves me…he's _in_ love with me." Said Sora to himself. Deep down Sora knew he was in love with Riku too, but how would it work out? He touched the spot on his forehead that Riku kissed. His lips were so soft. He wondered how they felt on his own. He blushed at the thought. "I…I think I love him too." He said. He felt butterflies in his stomach and his heart was pounding. "I need to take a nap. If I still feel this way when I wake up, I'll tell him." He said to himself. He grabbed his sheets from the laundry and crashed on the bed.

Sora woke up about an hour later and instantly remembered everything. His chest felt the same. It felt warm, but a new type of warm. He got out of bed and went back to Riku's room and opened the door. Riku was laying on his bed, sleeping. He walked in and locked the door behind him. He sat on Riku's stomach and watched him wake up. He looked confused for a moment.

"What are you doing?"

"I love you too." Said Sora. Riku's eyes widened.

"What?" he asked. Sora leaned down and kissed Riku. Riku instantly kissed back. He wrapped his arms around the brunette, pulling him closer. Sora let go of the kiss and smiled.

"I had to think about it, but I know what I want now." Said Sora. Riku smiled and planted butterfly kisses on his neck and cheeks.

"I love you so much." Said Riku. Sora smiled.


	4. Mickey's Message

The rest of the day was filled with some chore-like activities. Sora finished up his laundry, Riku focused on exercising all day, and Kiari was with King Mickey taking classes on how the heart works. Since she was one of the seven princesses, Mickey thought it was necessary that Kiari was informed of these things.

By the end of the day, Sora had finally folded the rest of his laundry and was laying on the beach, staring at the night sky. Riku finished his shower after his workout and went to lay on the sand next to him. He noticed that Sora hadn't acknowledged that Riku had sat next to him.

"You okay?" asked Riku. Sora jumped a little, noticing that his new boyfriend was laying next to him.

"Y-Yeah, I was just staring at the sky. Sorry." Said Sora with a smile. Riku grinned and stared at the sky with him. "You know," said Sora. "I never realized how important it is to make time for yourself to just do nothing." Said Sora. Riku let out a chuckle.

"Sora, before everything happened that's _all_ you did." Said Riku.

"H-Hey! I'm being serious." Said Sora with a blush that ran across his face.

"And so am I!" replied Riku as he kissed Sora's cheek. Sora smiled and rolled his eyes. Sora kept staring at the sky until he realized that Riku had been staring at him for some time now.

"Do I have something on my face?" he teased. Riku just shook his head but didn't turn away.

"You know I'd tell you if there was." Said Riku. "It's getting late, where's Kiari?" asked Riku.

"Right here!" said Kiari, scaring the two boys. She smiled as the two sat up and turned to face her.

"Geez, you always scare us, Kai." Said Sora. She laughed and sat down next to the two boys.

"So how are you two lovers doing?" asked Kiari.

"F-Fine." Said Riku. "How was classes with Mickey today?" he asked.

"It went well. I learned a lot of stuff that I didn't know about. It makes the day drag, though. I'm ready for bed." Said Kiari.

"Yeah, me too." Said Sora. Riku nodded in agreement.

"Should we hit the sack?" asked Riku. Everyone agreed. They went inside and got ready for bed. Kiari almost immediately tucked herself in. Sora walked passed her room and smiled. He closed her door and turned off the light.

"Kiari's pretty tired. King Mickey's probably making her work hard." Said Sora as he joined Riku in brushing their teeth.

"Yah, he's preddy tough." Said Riku as he brushed his teeth. He spit out the tooth paste and gargled some mouthwash before spitting that out too. "So, your room tonight or mine?" asked Riku.

"Mine." Said Sora. "I just washed my sheets, remember?" he added with a smile. Riku nodded. They both changed into their sleepwear and tucked themselves in Sora's bed.

"Goodnight, Sora. I love you." Said Riku. Sora was already halfway asleep, he just kissed Riku's hand that was wrapped around him. They drifted off into sleep.

* * *

 _Riku had awoken on the beach at night. He woke up to someone shaking his shoulder. He woke up to find none other than Mickey._

 _"Your Majesty? What are you doing here?" asked Riku. Mickey just frowned._

 _"Riku, I'm sorry." He said. "I'm sending you on another journey through the dark realm." He said, avoiding eye contact._

 _"Really?" said Riku. He was in a state of shock. "But why? Are the worlds in danger?" asked Riku. Mickey shook his head._

 _"Thankfully not, but you have some more training to do to control your darkness." Said Mickey. Riku frowned._

 _"With all due respect, your Majesty, I don't think I'm doing that bad." He said. "For once I'm finally happy where I am. I don't feel the need to give into anything." Said Riku with a hopeful smile._

 _"You need to go to the dark realm, Riku." Said Mickey. "There's one thing I should say. If you choose to stay, you and Sora will drift apart more and more until you end up hating each other." Said Mickey. Riku wanted to argue, but something was stopping him. He tried so hard to shout, but he couldn't._

* * *

Riku jolted awake and immediately turned to Sora. He frowned and his heart hurt. He slowly got out of the bed and opened up a black portal.

"Sora, I'm sorry. I love you." He said out loud. He turned to walk inside the portal before he felt an arm around his hand. He immediately closed the portal and turned to see Sora staring at him with tears filling his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Sora. Riku immediately embraced Sora tightly. Sora did the same.

"I'm sorry. I think King Mickey needs me in the dark realm." Said Riku.

"No, you can't go!" shouted Sora. "I need you here. How do you know that the king is in the dark realm?" asked Sora.

"I had a dream." Said Riku.

"R-Riku-! You know better than to believe your dreams!" asked Sora. "Please don't leave me. I need you. I'm nothing without you." Said Sora. Riku smiled.

"Sora, you are everything with or without me. You know that." He said.

"No! Stop saying things like that, I need you!" said Riku.

"Sora. I need you too, but so does the king." Said Riku. Sora started to cry. "Listen, Sora. Maybe right now we shouldn't be in a relationship." Said Riku. Sora looked up and by the looks in his eyes, Riku knew he just broke the boy's heart.

"What…? You're breaking up with me?" asked Sora. Riku tried not to look at Sora.

"If Mickey really needs me, then us being together during my time away will only hurt you." Said Riku. "It'll hurt me too…"

"So you think just by calling it off that will make me stop loving you?" asked Sora. His breathing began to accelerate. "I…I can't believe this is happening again…" he said. "Riku I can't breathe." He said. He began to have a panic attack.

"S-Sora, it's okay calm down! I'm not leaving." Said Riku. Sora looked at him with pleading eyes.

"P-Promise?" asked Sora. Riku kissed Sora's cheek and cupped the other one.

"I promise." Said Riku. Sora's breath began to slow down and he finally stopped crying.

"I…I'm sorry. This is so embarrassing." Said Sora.

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have even thought to leave you, Sora. I'm sorry. I love you so much." He said as he kissed Sora. Sora kissed him back, but it will filled with passion. Like he was begging Riku to stay.

"I really want you to understand what I went through to find you." Said Sora. "I fought so hard. Riku, I can't do that again." He added. "You can't leave me."

"I won't leave, Sora, but we have to make sure the king is okay." Said Riku. He kissed Sora's cheek and ran kisses down to his neck. He grabbed one of Sora's hands and kissed that too. Sora blushed as how romantic this was all so suddenly.

Sora grabbed his Gummi Phone and called Mickey.

"H-Hello?" asked Mickey, clearly sounding like he just woke up.

"H-Hi your majesty! Sorry to wake you up." Said Sora. A feeling of relief filled Riku's chest as he heard Mickey's voice. "Riku had a bad dream and we were wondering, is everything okay?" he asked. A smile grew on Sora's face and he stuck his tongue out to Riku. Riku rolled his eyes and kissed Sora, sliding his tongue into the brunette's mouth. Sora blushed hard and tried to push Riku awake. Riku grabbed the phone and put it to his ear.

"We're glad you're okay, your Majesty. Go get some sleep and we'll catch up soon. Goodnight!" he said as he hung up the phone.

"R-Riku, why would you do that while I'm on the pho—" he was cut off by Riku kissing him again. He pulled Sora's waist close to his own and ran his hand up Sora's shirt. Sora gasped and leaned in to kiss Riku again.

"I love you." Said Riku.

"I love you too, are we really about to do this?" asked Sora. Riku just kissed and sucked on Sora's neck, earning a moan from the boy. They fell to the bed and made love for the first time.

* * *

The night was filled with lust, love, and passion. Once they finished, the were tangled in the bed, caressing each other's backs.

"Did we really just do that?" asked Sora. Riku grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, wasn't it amazing?" asked Riku. Sora nodded and kissed Riku's cheek as he fell asleep. Riku stared at the man he just made love with. "I'm so in love with you." He said to the now sleeping boy. He kissed his nose and followed him to fall asleep.


End file.
